So from around about 2-3 weeks my baby started to develop a pretty serious rash on his neck. I assumed it was just heat rash. It has since started to spread to behind his ears, under his arm pits, and on his chest. It's still the worst on his neck. He is 5 weeks now. I took him for a well baby check up and the ped said he was totally healthy and she wasn't really sure what was causing the rash it just looked like an allergic reaction.

I'm concerned that it is my breast milk because it seems to become inflamed right after I feed him and when he's hot like after being in his car seat with the sun on him. I have been giving him baths and keeping him cool which seems to have helped a little bit but I just can't deny that it seems to really get bad right after feedings.

How do I figure out if it's my breast milk? Start an elimination diet? Has anyone ever dealt with this problem with their baby?

April 21st, 2012, 12:01 PM

@llli*mommal

Re: PLEASE HELP!! Newborn rash from breast milk?

Welcome to the forum, mama, and congratulations on the new baby!

There are lots of moms here with experience with allergies and elimination diets, and I am sure some of them will chime in. I am not sure what you describe screams "allergy", though. The fact that your baby's skin seems to get worse after being in the warm carseat or up against your body heat when nursing makes me wonder about prickly heat. It could also be an allergy to something environmental, like the detergent you use on his clothes. There's a temptation as a breastfeeding mom to look at yourself and your milk as the explanation for all your baby's issues- if he's fussy it must be something you ate, if he has a rash it must be an allergy to something in your milk, if he spits up it must be because of something you did... But it's not always your fault!

Can you describe the rash a bit more? Is it dry, pimply, scaly, cracked, blotchy, smelly?

April 21st, 2012, 01:40 PM

@llli*kadensmama

Re: PLEASE HELP!! Newborn rash from breast milk?

Thank you so much for responding.. The rash is little red pimply looking bumps. On some areas of his body it seems to be dry but especially at his neck folds it is moist and a little sour smelling. I know when he spits up milk can get caught under there but I try to keep that area as dry as possible. I'm using ALL Free and Clear detergent but am going to switch to Dreft to see if that helps...

April 21st, 2012, 01:46 PM

@llli*jmholmes

Re: PLEASE HELP!! Newborn rash from breast milk?

Hello!
This sounds exactly like what we were dealing with with my two month old daughter. I thought it was simply infant acne, but like your situation, it seemed aggravated with heat. After talking with my pediatrician, she said that it was very unlikely that the clothes were an issue and that it was probably just a phase in her skin. Just in case, she prescribed a lotion alclometasone and it completely disappeared in two days. We also avoid warm clothes when she's sleeping, and stopped bundling her up so much at night and that seemed to help. Hope that helps!

April 21st, 2012, 01:50 PM

@llli*nola

Re: PLEASE HELP!! Newborn rash from breast milk?

Could it be baby acne? That gets worse when the baby gets heated up a bit (meaning that when the baby gets warmer like after a bath, it looks worse). Baby acne can get quite bad, spreading into the hair, neck folds, shoulders, chest, face etc. Look at some pictures online and see if that helps maybe? I know you didn't mention face rash but I'm just guessing here... My 3rd baby just had baby acne quite bad from week 2 to week 6. She now has a mainly clear face (6 weeks). Apparently sometimes baby acne can be caused by allergies to something in the milk, but not always, and not usually.

As for the neck folds being moist and a little sour smelling that is pretty normal, as they don't have much air circulation there. It could be that the neck moist and sour issue is a different issue due to the lack of air there because they don't have much of a "neck" yet and the spit up that gets caught in there (even with trying to keep it clean and dry). My baby also has that and she doesn't have a rash anymore. My other kids did too, I try to wipe it clean often but its sort of that way anyways.

Check out the allergy section of the forums for more on elimination diets. There are certain foods to start with as the most likely culprits.

I hope this helps

April 21st, 2012, 02:49 PM

@llli*kadensmama

Re: PLEASE HELP!! Newborn rash from breast milk?

thank you so much for the replies. What's strange is that it started out on his face at around a week-2 weeks. And now his face looks pretty much all cleared up but his neck, ears, chest, and belly are totally broken out. It's much more severe in his neck folds then anywhere else. JmHolmes- i was hoping the Dr. would give me something but she said that he's too young for any sort of prescription and that he just has sensitive skin and the rash will probably never go away completely. I want to try some natural remedies. I found something online that says to make a paste of chamomile, calendula, and corn starch and to apply it to his rash. I will be trying this tonight i hope it helps...

April 21st, 2012, 03:21 PM

@llli*kadensmama

Re: PLEASE HELP!! Newborn rash from breast milk?

By the way I ate a significant amount of dairy and meat while pregnant but since having him I have cut out all dairy and eat meat 2-3 times per week or less for health reasons. I eat a lot of soy and peanut butter so I am going to stop eating soy for 5 days to see if there is any improvement and if not then try cutting out peanuts and other nuts. Thanks again for your help ladies...

April 21st, 2012, 03:34 PM

@llli*m11612

Re: PLEASE HELP!! Newborn rash from breast milk?

Just wanted to chime in that my daughter had a rash that started on her face then went to her neck, ears and chest. At first I thought it was baby acne (on her face) then I worried when it was on other parts of her body. My ped said it was probably still baby acne or a bit of prickly heat. It seemed to clear up on its own at about 6 weeks. I never really figured it out and had even forgotten it until I read your post. My ped told me if there were no other symptoms to keep an eye on it and try not to worry. easier said than done.

April 21st, 2012, 05:47 PM

@llli*froggylogic

Re: PLEASE HELP!! Newborn rash from breast milk?

Just wanted to throw another possibility out there... What are you washing him with? Are you using any baby lotion? My son had a very similar reaction, and our pediatrician said it was heat rash, but it turned out to be a rash from the baby wash and lotion we were using. We switched baby wash/lotion and viola! No more rash.

April 21st, 2012, 07:25 PM

@llli*maddieb

Re: PLEASE HELP!! Newborn rash from breast milk?

It's highly unlikely this is from something you ate. Please, do not limit your diet until you have ruled out the many more common causes of skin rash in infants! Much more likely a heat/sweat/sensitive skin related rash. BTW many moms find expressed breastmilk applied to the skin is a good natural remedy for rashes. Just a thought.

I looked rashes up on askdrsears and this sounds like classic heat rash: "Heat rash – this appears as tiny red pimples, bumps, or spots. It usually appears on the back of the neck or lower back, but can involve the entire trunk. It occurs due to a mix of sweat, heat and clothing. Treat this by cooling your baby off, airing out the area, or applying a cool washcloth." link to entire article: http://www.askdrsears.com/topics/skin-care/rashes